03 November 2010
Source: Amelia'sMagazine.com
Master guitarist and don to the desert rock producing world, Alain Johannes takes to the skies with his debut record Spark.
Written by Willemijn Barker-Benfield
You might not know it, but you know Alain Johannes. Producer and artist extraordinaire, having previously produced and collaborated with the infamous Queens of the Stone Age; No Doubt, PJ Harvey, Eleven, and toured with the super group Them Crooked Vultures earlier this year, Johannes is renowned throughout many rock circles for his mesmerising guitar skills, which in March of this year had me caught in a spell during a musical intermission of the Crooked Vultures’ intense set. Thinking Johannes was a brave man to compete with the likes of Grohl, Homme and Jones, I was left blown away by his talent and unequivocal sound.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes, "Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak/Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break." Faced with loss, we must give voice to our feelings so that we can begin some semblance of recovery. For Alain Johannes, there was no other option. In 2008, Natasha Shneider, his partner in every sense of the word--in romance, in friendship, and in music--died of cancer at the age of 42. They had been together for 25 years.
Hay personas en el mundo que no saben que son especiales hasta que alguien se los dice, pero incluso así, su humildad no les brinda la posibilidad de darse por aludidos; lo que a nosotros nos parece especial, para ellos es normalidad en estado puro.
Alain Johannes has honed his formidable skills while playing a prominent role in acts such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Eleven and Them Crooked Vultures, which he utilizes to the fullest on his debut solo record, 
One of those rare and 'amazing' finds...